speaker, before the election, you were asked whether if it obama won taxes would have to go up. and you sounded like you opposed that. now you're acknowledging that they will. >> the day after the election, i came here and made it clear that republicans would put revenue on the table. as a way to begin to move the process to get this resolved. >> right. so my question is, what message do you have for people who look at the negotiating division, and believe that it's inevitable that you'll have to accept some compromise on tax rates? >> the revenue is on the table. but revenue was only on the table if there were serious spending cuts as part of this agreement. it has to be part of the agreement. we have a debt crisis. we're spending too much. and while we're willing to put revenue on the table, we have to recognize, it's the spending that's out of control. >> mr. speaker. roughly what size spending cuts do you think it would take to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff, and do you think that at least the promise of spending cuts has to be included in this level deal at this time? >>